[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Brian, I am not sure where I got the CDLV 59 from now, as I have had information direct as you know and also have read WHEELS & TRACKS. The very first Canadian C8A contract was in fact C.D.L.V. 59, so the BODY would have been to that contract. I will certainly check when I can to find out where the information came from.

By the way, I was checking Dr Gregg's books just now and believe that Ford, whilst they obviously created at DND or more likely Ministry of Supply request, a F8A design since the very few built probably ended up in India to British order, they politely turned down the request to produce any series production units because of other commitments and so left it to GM of Canada to produce the 4 x 4 8-cwt. trucks. The only photo of a F8A chassis-cab shows that it had a # 12 Cab, and thus predated the earliest C8A, # the pilot truck with a chassis built late summer 1941.

In answer to the MY cut-offs, this varied between Ford, GM and Chrysler, and between the Canadian and US companies. I have on hand the Chevrolet and GMC 248 engine production figures abd also CKD production figurs by month for the years in question. The 1940 Walkerville Plant Model Year engine production ran August 1939 to July 1940, with zilch produced in July 1939! Although no '1941 MY' is stated, my guess is that as GMC 248 production started in September 1940 and finished in June 1941, that was in fact 1941 MY for Oshawa. There was a severe drop in production in September 1941, compared to August 1941 [Regina Plant closed July 1941], and they were probably tooling up for 1942 Model Year .... there was then no break until January 1946 because of the Auto Wokers' strike.

I shall have to check Ford of Canada's MY but from memory 1941 started August 1940, but 1942 was truncated so far as civilian production is concerned. The last Canadian civilian TRUCKS until 1944 came off the lines in late January 1942, with the last Chev a 2-door sedan and the last Ford a Mercury 4-door. IIn the past I have interpreted old Canadian motor industry data from WARD'S CANADIAN AUTOMOTIVE HANDBOOK as suggesting that military car production continued until say June 1942 ay least but these 1942 Models could have been frozen dealer stocks released.

I really feel that the Model Year distinction after 1941 MY ended was blurred somewhat and it had more to do in the case of GM of Canada with contract dates. This overlapping of MYs started in 1940 in the case of Canadian Ford and Chevrolet orders, as '1940' Models continued in production until the [1940] contracts had been fulfilled even though some chassis were assembled in 1941 MY, possibly even into 1941 Calebdar Year. However, the first British orders went into production a few days apart [Windsor first, Oshawa following] around the beginning of September 1940 ['Ford of Canada started production of their British orders on 26 August 1940, and G.M. of Canada on 3 September 1940. One of the first shipments consisted of 70 15 cwt. Chevrolets and 25 Ford 3-Ton trucks, which was a tiny portion of the overall demand'] and thus after 1941 Model Year had commenced..I have the actual dates somewhere. All British-ordered CMPs had '1941' Model Year serials/engine numbers except for those Canadian-ordered units that were sold by the DND to the British Ministry of Supply after assembly in the UK, which were then retained in the UK or shipped out to the Mid-East. This overlapping continued it seems year-on-year, and my Canadian Chevrolet/GMC database gives some idea of how in e.g. 1943 and 1944 the new MY production commenced well into the Calendar Year because there were so many units still to be completed from the previous year's contracts.

I believe that there were no 1945 Model CMPs because there were no 1945-placed contracts, and that the evidence shows that the last Canadian and British orders that were completed in the Fall of 1945 some time after the paperwork had been lodged. However, at least two MCPs, 1945 Models are know to me, one was in a Candian scrapyard, and civilian-style trucks, having started coming of the line in 1944 for essential users, may have been continued for humanitarian and recovery work, etc.

1945 MODEL CHASSIS 1543X1
SERIAL # 5154307537 ENGINE T104,220 BODY 2553 [Stake Body]..note a British delivery/assembly and then repatriated!

I also know of three 1945 Model GMCs which may have been ex-military. Both Ford and GM of Canada produced 1945 Model trucks until production ended in December 1945 of Chevrolets/Maple Leafs and GMCs, re-starting April 1946 with the 1946 Models, and in the case of Ford, until the strike in Windsor Plant started September 12 1945.

A letter dated 11 September 1945 from the Minister of Munitions and Supply to General Motors of Canada states that wartime production would be ending 'in a few days thereafter': this seems to suggest that C.M.P. production as well as M.C.P. production ended by 20 September, say 30 September at the latest, in the Oshawa Plant.

The last C.M.P. models were plated as ‘1944 Models’, prefixed ‘4’ on the build plate in front of the model year of Chevrolet trucks. The latest known build date stamped on a build plate was 30 August 1945: 1C11 Staff Car # 4844521386 ENGINE # FR4,057,573 to British order S/M 6407 though there were later contracts: the last one known was S/M 6524 again for Staff Cars.

There were also 1944 Model Fords assembled into what was arguably 1946 Model Year: Ford Model C291Q, Serial Number CK-236140, Engine # 5G-420-F to S/M 6389 was built in November 1945. The highest known British Ford contract was for F.60L units to Contract S/M 6537, e.g. Ford F60L/WP built to contract S/M 6537 on 4 September 1945 which has serial number SU-301065 and engine number 5G-11449F.